A Fiery Soul: Zhin

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Zhin was an overpowered superman who cussed like a sailor. When my brother asked why anything even happened to the group with him around, it got me thinking. I read somewhere that overpowered characters couldn't develop, grow, or be interesting. I powered him down about 80%. Since I didn't cuss, Zhin's dialogue looked like this, *$%#@! Of course I couldn't have that, so I had to get creative with his words and how he insulted people. His personality stayed the same, more or less.

Zhin used to be a doctor with all kinds of tricks up his sleeve. Now he's not, and he only knows enough medical things to get him by. Being a doctor just made no sense in the long run.

Zhin's race is Berivor, but his power is Iskerkin. That power didn't exist and neither did his entire background, which has a huge impact on Vijeren and Sibare. The Iskerkin power came to life in the bloodheart scene in the forest. His powers flowed right off my fingers and I stared at it in shock. Seriously, you can't ask how I made it up, because that just appeared.

Confession time for his race. Zhin used to be covered head to foot in fur and he was much like a bear on two legs. In fact, I called his race "Bear Men." No imagination whatsoever. I was perfectly happy with him, and he may have been in the book like that. Here's where I confess. I got hooked on that show Mountain Monsters. One day, it introduced what the guys in the show called a Yahoo. They had a picture of it: a bigfoot-like creature with black fur and glowing eyes. I gasped in horror. Zhin looked like a bigfoot, a Yahoo, a Yeti, whatever you'd like to call it. Who in their right mind wants that in the family? I certainly didn't.

I jumped up and began a major character redesign on him and his entire race. The race name became Berivor. The only thing remaining from that yeti beast were the ears, claws and feet. All else became human.

The challenge for my sister when drawing Zhin was giving him his own look, and yet giving him a family resemblance to Vijeren, Sibare and Rilkin. I think she did a genius job.

"Grasping Zhin's arm, he seized his soul to rip it from his body. Had Zhin been anyone else, he would have instantly died, but he had a fiery Iskerkin soul.

As soon as Shehaz touched his spirit, it inflamed. Fire exploded from Zhin's body and consumed Shehaz's frame like a sweltering summer wind. The skin of his fingers peeled back, revealing white bone that blackened and cracked. The crevices glowed as if full of embers. Shrieking in anguish, Shehaz jerked his skeleton hands away and collapsed in a corner."

"Pariahs" pt. 2, ch. 6, p. 172

Drawing by Nicomelia Benally

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